Newcastle Jets sign Kew Jaliens

The Newcastle Jets have announced the signing of former Dutch international Kew Jaliens for the 2013/14 Hyundai A-League season.

The Newcastle Jets have announced the signing of former Dutch international Kew Jaliens for the 2013/14 Hyundai A-League season.

Jaliens joins the Jets after spending the last three seasons at Polish heavyweights Wisla Krakow.

The central defender won the 2010/11 Ekstraklasa (first league) in his first season at Wisla before featuring heavily in the Club-s 2011/12 UEFA Champions League qualifying campaign, which saw them knocked out by competition surprise packets APOEL.

The 34-year-old has represented the Netherlands on 10 occasions and spent more than a decade plying his trade with Dutch Eredivisie Clubs Sparta Rotterdam, Willem II and AZ Alkmaar.

Newcastle Jets CEO Robbie Middleby said the Club is delighted to have secured the services of Jaliens for the upcoming season.

“Kew has played at the highest level for both Club and country, and brings a wealth of experience to the Jets” Middleby said.

“We believe he will complement the players we already have in our squad and we-re confident he can make a big impact in the A-League.

“With the number of talented young players coming through at the Jets, it is fantastic for them to have the likes of Michael Bridges, Emile Heskey and now Kew to learn from.”

Jets head coach Gary van Egmond was equally pleased to have Jaliens at the Club, saying the centre-back was the final piece of the puzzle for the Jets- playing squad.

“It is fantastic to have secured a player with Kew-s pedigree in what we identified as a key position for us,” van Egmond said.

“He-s a great fit for the Club and we-re very much looking forward to him arriving and commencing pre-season training with the Jets.”

Jaliens was a member of the Netherlands- squad for the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

He played 90 minutes in the Oranje-s group match against Argentina at the tournament, keeping a clean sheet against a forward line boasting the likes of Carlos Tevez and Lionel Messi.

Jaliens also represented the Netherlands as an over-age player at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where he played in all three group matches at the tournament.

At Club level, Jaliens started his career with Sparta Rotterdam, making 79 appearances before signing with Willem II.

While at Willem II, Jaliens participated in the Club-s 1999/00 UEFA Champions League campaign. He went on to make 171 appearances for Willem II before securing a move to AZ Alkmaar in 2004.

During his 231 appearances for AZ Alkmaar, Jaliens played alongside Socceroo Brett Holman and was a member of the AZ Alkmaar team that won the Eredivisie and Dutch Super Cup in 2009.

Jaliens featured prominently in AZ Alkmaar-s 2009/10 UEFA Champions League campaign, which saw him face the likes of Arsenal, Olympiacos and Standard Liege.

Jaliens is expected to arrive in Newcastle and commence pre-season training with the Jets in the coming weeks.